Happy happy FRIDAY, friends!
It’s my first Friday Faves of 2026 🙂 .
This is always one of my favorite posts each week because it’s full of just HAPPINESS. I love sharing my favorite things with you. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for being here with me another year.
Okay, as always, I’m linking up with my friends Andrea and Erika and sharing the first edition of my weekly faves for 2026.
Cheers to the weekend, y’all!
It’s been a week of TRAVEL!
We arrived home on Monday afternoon from Poland and hit the ground running. After taking two weeks off from work, our office reopened Monday morning and dove right into 2026. Did you know that January is the busiest month for travel agents? Any time it gets a little slow in the fall, I remind my team that “winter is coming” (a la Game of Thrones 😉 ).
Winter always comes and it keeps us busy, busy creating trips for our clients.
If you missed yesterday’s post, it was all about TENS and…
…the ten of us had a FABULOUS 2025 and can’t wait for another year working with YOU.
Last year, our travel agency booked trips on all 7 continents, 52 different countries, 6 Hawaiian islands and Alaska, our clients cruised on sailboats, yachts, small luxury liners, epic sized ocean liners, and river cruises. We had clients at a Disney property every week in 2025 and opened our services to Disneyland, luxury ski resorts, National Parks, and American Cruise Line. Plus, we did groups and weddings too. We had a YEAR! We sent clients on 1,529 vacations in 2025 (over $9.5 million in sales) and CANNOT WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN THIS YEAR TOO!
We would love, love, love to send you too 🙂 . Contact us TODAY!
Speaking of travel, I had some MVPs of my trip this winter break!
First up were MY BOOTS! I cannot rave about them enough. They’re so comfy, waterproof, and warm. Plus, they come in other colors too.
We also absolutely LOVED…
…our RECHARGEABLE ELECTRIC HAND WARMERS. Holy cow, these are GAME CHANGERS!
Let me give you some deets:
1: You plug them in with the same cord as an iPhone. They charge pretty quickly and stay charged all day.
2: They have three different heat levels and honest to goodness the third level was so hot, we never really used it. THAT is how amazing these things are. They truly get “that” hot. I actually rarely wore gloves this entire trip because I preferred just to put my hands in my pockets and hold my hand warmers. Andrew had his tucked inside his gloves and our kids did a combo. They were so so easy to work, lasted all day and were extremely effective. If you do “cold” things, I highly, highly, highly recommend them.
My friend Kara gifted me this…
…and it was also a traveling MVP! This is a HEAT RESISTANT SILICONE MAT FOR CURLING IRONS!
You can heat up your curling iron while resting it on the outside of the mat (to protect the counter) and also…
…pop it inside while still warm so that you can easily toss it in your bag/suitcase and go. I LOVED using this on our vacation and honestly, I can’t imagine ever traveling without it again. It was so convenient!
New year…
…new pair of sneakers for walking and running! I bought the same style last winter and loved them so much that I bought them again.
I wear this style on Nantucket too. THESE SNEAKERS are my favorite for my active days. I find they run TTS.
It’s another year of…
…Erika and I are excited to share our first LET’S LOOK of 2026 next week!
If you blog and link up with us, here are the prompts for this year.
We would LOVE to have you join us again!!
Mades and I went to Target this week to grab a bunch of random things and look what I saw as soon as I walked in…
…just a lot of happy and cheery athleticwear. The colors and the layers were SO HAPPY for January.
I came home with…
…THIS VEST and THESE JOGGERS 🙂 .
Please give me allllllll the things I can workout in, walk the dogs in, drive kids to school in, pop into my grocery store in, and grab Starbucks in all before 8:00 AM.
I didn’t get one of their PUFFER COATS, but goodness, they were cute too.
I did though grab…
…THIS SWEATER for February 🙂 .
So cute, right?!
I tried it on just to show you. Even the buttons make me happy.
If you missed yesterday’s blog post, I shared the TOP TEN:
RECIPE POSTS FROM 2025
VACATION POSTS FROM 2025
NANTUCKET BLOG POSTS FROM 2025
(A very fun variety!)
I thought I’d share the last two categories again…because thanks to YOU, these were also very random and super eclectic…
#7: My WEIGHTED VEST
#6: My TENNIS SKIRT
#4: My FOOT CREAM
Last year, I wrote 465 blog posts, but these were your TOP TEN faves.
I was really surprised by this year’s Top Ten!
Here you go…
#10: BACK TO SCHOOL SLOW COOKER SUPPERS
#8: SAUSAGE & BACON BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
#7: MERRY MONDAY!
#6: LEMON COCONUT NEIMAN MARCUS BARS
#4: TRADER JOE’S SEPTEMBER HAUL
#3: LIFE LATELY {ON NANTUCKET}
Okay, I found these this week and LOVE them both! You know how I feel about protein bars (I typically think they’re disgusting), but in 2025, I tried Barebell and haven’t looked back. I tried both of these “new to me” flavors and honest to goodness, they both might be my new faves…
Delicious! Both of them are DELICIOUS! If you’re trying to sneak in extra protein like me, I highly recommend!
And finally…
It’s SOUP SEASON!
Today, I’m sharing 38 hearty, delicious and EASY COZY WINTER SOUPS.
You’re going to want to hop on over there and check it out 🙂 .
Cheers to Friday, friends! I hope you all have the BEST weekend! xx
Elspeth Mizner says
So many fun things!! I can’t wait for the new let’s look!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Jami Romano says
Great random shares! I ordered the hand warmers for my daughter who goes to college in a cold town & the curling iron mats for all of us 🙂 XO
Mix and Match Mama says
She will LOVE both! xx
Ashlee Hawkins says
I agree on the key kime Barebell bar. It was so good! I also discovered the peanut butter and jelly, and it’s my new favorite!
Mix and Match Mama says
Where did you find that one?! I haven’t seen that one yet!
Ashlee Hawkins says
I found it at Wal-Mart.
Nicole says
You being back this week was a Friday favorite of mine!! I love starting my day with a dose of happy reading on your blog daily. I hope you have the best weekend.
Mix and Match Mama says
Awwwww! Goodness, thank you so much!! xx
Sheaffer says
That Target workout wear looks DARLING! And that heart sweater is just as cute as can be!
Paula Hobbs says
Great lineup!! I immediately gifted my two college girlies those curling iron mats!! Have a great weekend, everyone!!
Mix and Match Mama says
They will LOVE them!
Sara Grayson says
Gahhh so many cute things! Just ordered the dress in the gray color for ACK this summer…it’s adorable on you! Thank you for sharing!! 🙂
Lizzie says
I’m hooked on the Barebells! Love the creamy crispy. It’s like having a candy bar, but healthy. I need to try the Key Lime.
You’re trip to Munich and Austria is now on my bucket list, especially at Christmas time. So beautiful.
Yvonne says
That curling iron mat and rechargeable hand warmers are great finds! Thank you for sharing, I am ordering both!!!
Yay to the return of Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend!
Susan P Fitzpatrick says
Barebells are so good!! I will have to try those 2 flavors you showed. There are so many cute winter clothes out this season but I think South Texas is skipping winter ☹️ I haven’t worn sweaters and vests that I bought in previous years yet. Hoping we get a taste of winter at some point! Have a good weekend!
Laura Holmes says
I love the Let’s Look categories for this year! Looking forward to them!
Linda says
Love your blog and your favorite things! Couldn’t get the link for the boots. Can you send? It just went to Nordy’s but not the boots. Also in what size did you purchase the adorable heart cardigan? Thanks for all your inspirations!
Mix and Match Mama says
The heart cardigan is xs. The boots link is working now (I just checked!). The brand is Freya from Nordstrom 🙂 . https://bit.ly/4pvtUe6
Julie Lavois says
Thanks for sharing! Love the target heart sweater. Can you please share what size you have on for size reference ? I can’t wait to order one!
Mix and Match Mama says
Of course! It’s an xs.
Jess W says
I have the hand warmers that I actually keep at my desk at work because it can get cold in our office. But I’ve taken them for cold games or when I’ll be outside in the cold and they’re great!
Mix and Match Mama says
That is genius!
Ari says
I am so excited about the Let’s Look prompts this year! Super creative.
Heather Green says
Love that you’re back! I’m going to be buying the handwarmers too! Also, I just ordered this week puregeniusprotein.com because i struggle with getting it in!
Jenny N says
Thank you for linking the hand warmers. This Texas girl is going to Alaska this summer and I am definitely taking those!
We love Barebells! They are the only protein bars we will eat. It honestly feels like you are eating a candy bar. Our favorites are Creamy Crisp and Marshmallow Peanut Road. We buy them by the box when Vitamin Shoppe has them BOGO 50% off.
Lauren E says
I’m cracking up at Madeley’s face in the picture where you’re showing off your boots. She’s so silly!
Erika Slaughter says
When I first discovered the Barebell protein bars, I went straight to their website and you can see ALL the flavors. I ordered a bunch just for us to try to find our FAVES! You should do that!
Bren says
I have had that silicone mat for a few years now and it’s a definite favorite of mine! I not only use it for travel, after we redid our bathroom countertops, I aways bring it out to place my curling iron on when styling my hair as I felt better than setting my hot iron directly on them. (Even though they better be durable enough for that…but still!) Happy 2026, Shay!
Sarah Shaneyfelt says
I follow a Disney influencer on IG and she got the Valentine’s sweater like you and styled it so cute with Minnie ears and a red tennis skirt–such a cute Disney park outfit for February! Have a great weekend!
MeetTheShaneyfelts
Mix and Match Mama says
ADORABLE!!
Tabitha says
Hi Shay!! Hope you had a great weekend!!! Thanks for sharing all of these fun finds! I just wondered if you had a link for your jeans that you’re wearing with your adorable pink Valentine’s Day sweater? Thanks so much!!
Mix and Match Mama says
The brand is Mother. These are oldies but goodies.